Stewed Assorted Mushrooms 三菇迎新年

Stewed Assorted Mushrooms 三菇迎新年

Recipe Source : adapted from Chopsticks Recipes

The Chinese New Year Reunion dinner table has traditionally being abundantly laden with more meat and fish dishes than vegetables. For many families, no cost is spared to prepare only the best for the reunion dinner. However, too much meat means too much cholesterol which is something not very healthy. We therefore need to balance our food intake. 

Here is a very tasty and healthy vegetable dish for the reunion dinner to welcome the year of the snake !

 

Ingredients

50g dried shitake mushroom
200g canned straw mushroom
200g canned button mushroom
300g baby bok choy ( nai pak in Cantonese- 奶白菜)
1 shallot , thinly sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
carrot slices for garnishing
2 tbsp cooking oil

Seasoning Ingredients

 

1 tsp shao hsing wine
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
a dash of pepper

Dissolve all the above seasoning ingredients in 1 Chinese rice bowl of chicken stock.

Cornflour Solution

1 tsp cornflour dissolved in 2 tbsp of water 

Top :  baby bok choy

Bottom left : shitake mushrooms. Centre : straw mushrooms. Right : button mushrooms

How To Marinate Mushroom

1.  Soak shitake mushroom for 2 hours until soft. Remove the stems.
2.  Wash and squeeze dry. Repeat the process.
3.  Marinate with 1 tsp shao hsing wine, 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp soy sauce.

How To Prepare The Baby Bok Choy

1.  In a pot, bring 1 litre of water to the boil.
2.  Add in 1 tsp of lye water or kan-sui in Cantonese.
3.  Let the baby bok choy boil for 1 minute.
4.  Drain away the water. Rinse under running tap to remove traces of lye
5.  In a pot, bring another litre of water to the boil.
6.  Add 1 tbsp of oil and 1 tsp sugar.
7.  Add the baby bok choy and stir for 30 seconds. Drain and set aside.

Cooking Instructions

1.  In a wok, heat 2 tbsp oil and fry the shallot, minced garlic and minced ginger until fragrant.
2.  Add in the shitake mushrooms, straw mushrooms and button mushrooms and fry for 1 minute.
3.  Add the seasoning ingredients and bring to the boil.
4.  Add the cornflour solution and stir for another minute. 
5. Add baby bok choy and mix well.
6. Dish up and serve in a plate with carrot slices arranged in a circle. 

I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013

hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover

Inoki Mushrooms & Snow Peas With Pork Belly Slices 金针菇甜豆炒猪肉

Inoki Mushrooms & Snow Peas With Pork Belly Slices 金针菇甜豆炒猪肉

 

Wow!, looks delicious

Ingredients

3 packets inoki mushrooms, cut off the roots and wash clean
150g pork belly, cut into thin slices
100g snow peas, string them
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp minced garlic

Sauce Ingredients

1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 Chinese rice bowl chicken stock

Dissolve the salt, sugar and oyster sauce in the chicken stock

Pork Marinade

1 tsp wine
1 tsp cornflour

Mix the wine to the pork slices, then coat them with cornflour

snow peas

Inoki mushrooms

Instructions

1.  Heat a wok and add the cooking oil.
2.  Saute the minced garlic until light brown and fragrant.
3.  Add in the snow peas and stir-fry for 1 minute at high heat. 
4.  Add in the inoki mushrooms and stir-fry for another minute at high heat.
5.  Pour in the chicken stock with the seasonings and bring it to the boil.
6.  Add in the pork belly slices and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes
7.  Switch off the flame and dish up

Stewed Chicken Feet With Mushrooms 冬菇焖鸡脚

Stewed Chicken Feet With Mushrooms 冬菇焖鸡脚

 

Wow! Looks great !

 

This is a great dish which I learnt from my son's babysitter. My son has stopped going to his babysitter's house on a daily basis ever since he started secondary school. That was three years ago. Until today, YS  is still very attached to her. Two weeks ago, he requested that I learn to cook his favourite dish from her. So I visited his babysitter, who happen to be my sister-in-law and learnt how to cook it the way YS likes it. 

The end result  was great. It was delicious but  yet I have to concede defeat because YS said his aunt's cooking is better!

Ingredients

12 pieces of deep-fried chicken feet available from the wet market where I shop
6 pieces dried mushroom  ( soaked in water until soft and have the stems removed )
40g black fungus ( soaked in water until soft and cut into bite-sized pieces )
1 carrot ( sliced into pieces )
1 bulb whole garlic
1000 ml water
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Cornflour Solution

2 tsp cornflour
2 tbsp water

Mix the cornflour and water together in a bowl

Instructions

1.  Pour the water into a medium-sized pot. Bring it to the boil
2.  Add in the bulb of garlic, chicken feet, mushrooms and black fungus.
3.  Add in the oyster sauce and dark soya sauce
4.  Cover the pot with a lid and let it boil again. Reduce to slow fire and let it simmer for about 2 hours or until the chicken feet are soft and tender. ( You can cook for a longer period if you prefer the chicken feet softer still but make sure to add in more water )
5.  Add in the carrot slices and boil for another 15 minutes.
6.  Add in the salt, sugar and cornflour solution. Stir to mix thoroughly
7.  Switch off the flame and dish up.

 

Spicy and Tangy Seafood Soup 海鲜酸辣汤

Spicy and Tangy Seafood Soup 海鲜酸辣汤

Appetising seafood soup

Yummy!

Ingredients

300g squids, cut into pieces

5 large prawns

250g fish fillet, cut into slices

2 packets inoki mushrooms

5g chili padi

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp shredded ginger

2 tbsp cooking oil

600ml water

Top: Prawns; Bottom: Inoki mushrooms; Centre left: Squid; Centre: Fish fillet; Centre right: Chilli padi; Centre bottom: thinly sliced ginger.

Seasonings

 

4 tbsp Lea & Perrins sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp black vinegar

Cornflour Solution

1/2 tbsp cornflour dissolved in 2 tbsp water

Instructions

1.  Heat oil in a wok. Saute the shredded ginger and the minced garlic until fragrant

2.  Add in water and bring to the boil

3.  Over high flame, add in all the seafood ingredients, inoki mushrooms and chilli padi and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

4.  Add in the seasoning ingredients

5.  Thicken with cornflour solution

6.  Pour soup into a large bowl

7.  Ready to serve

Glutinous Rice Chicken ( Loh Mai kai ) 糯米鸡

Glutinous Rice Chicken ( Loh Mai Kai） 糯米鸡

 

   Tasty loh mai kai for dim sum

 

The loh mai kai is popularly eaten for breakfast. It is sold at most coffee shops run by the Chinese. However, the loh mai kai sold at most coffee shops are average in taste only, while the ones sold at dim sum outlets fare better. I remember it used to cost slightly more than a ringgit (dollar) to buy one from the shop but now it costs three ringgit just for one loh mai kai and most often the taste of the store-bought ones is not totally satisfactory. 

SK made one batch last week but he did not want to post it yet as he thought he could improve on the basic recipe before sharing it here. This improved version is so much tastier than the batch last week. We gave this the thumbs up!

Ingredients

 

600g glutinous rice( soaked for 3 hours )
2 chicken drumsticks ( chopped into bite-sized pieces )
10 dried mushrooms ( soaked and halved )
4 Chinese sausages ( sliced diagonally )
4 tbsp cooking oil for oiling the bottom of the rice bowls
500 ml water

N.B. I used the Hong Kong lap chai sausage （香港粒仔蜡肠）

 

Chicken Marinade

 

1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp ginger juice
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

Mushroom Marinade

 

2 tbsp shao hsing wine
2 Chinese soup spoons cooking oil
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar

Squeeze out the water from the mushrooms. Place marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well then add in the mushrooms and mix thoroughly.

Seasoning For The Glutinous Rice 

 

1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp shallot oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp shao hsing wine

 Marinated chicken pieces

 Sliced Chinese sausages

 Marinated mushrooms

 Left : teaspoon (tsp). Right : Tablespoon (tbsp)

 The loh mai kai covered with an aluminium foil

Instructions

 

1.  Drain the glutinous rice, add in 500 ml of water and steam for 25 minutes. Stir in the seasoning whilst still hot. Mix well and set aside.
2.  Marinate the chicken pieces for 1 hour
3.  Marinate the mushrooms for 1 hour
4.  Oil the bottom of a porcelain Chinese rice bowl. Place in 1 piece each of the chicken, mushroom and sausage.
5.  Spoon glutinous rice on top and press it down and level the glutinous rice over the chicken, mushroom and sausage with the back of the spoon
6.  Cover the bowl with aluminium foil and steam for 25 minutes


Note :
1)  You can read up on how to make shallot oil
2)  You can read up on the technique of steaming food here

 

Stir-Fried White Crab Mushrooms With Shrimps 神农白雪菇炒虾

Stir-Fried White Crab Mushrooms With Shrimps 神农白雪菇炒虾

 

Crunchy white crab mushrooms and succulent shrimps

Ingredients

300g white crab mushrooms ( remove the roots, halve or quarter each strand of the white crab mushrooms otherwise it may not cook thoroughly )
2 tbsp cooking oil
150 shrimps ( shelled and with veins removed )
1 tbsp minced garlic

Sauce Ingredients

1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve the sauce ingredients in 1 Chinese rice bowl of water

Cornflour Solution

 

1 tsp cornflour 
2 tbsp water

Dissolve the cornflour in 2 tbsp of water 

Raw white crab mushrooms

Instructions

 

1.  Heat 2 tbsp cooking oil in a wok
2.  Add in the minced garlic and stir-fry until light brown and fragrant
3.  Add in the dissolved sauce ingredients and bring to the boil
4.  Add in the shrimps and white crab mushrooms and let simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir as it simmers.
5.  Add in the cornflour solution and let it simmer for 1 minute
6.  Dish up and serve 

 

Stir-Fried Shimeji And Buna Shimeji Mushrooms With Shrimps 白玉灵兰菇炒虾

Stir-Fried Shimeji And Buna Shimeji Mushrooms With Shrimps 白玉灵兰菇炒虾

Smooth and crunchy mushrooms with succulent shrimps, what a combination!

Ingredients

1 punnet Shimeji mushrooms ( white type )
1 punnet Buna Shimeji mushrooms ( brown type )
150g shrimps, remove the shells and veins
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 tbsp cooking oil

Left: Buna Shimeji mushrooms. Right: Shimeji mushrooms

 

Sauce Ingredients

 

1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp shao hsing wine 
1 tsp cornflour
3/4 Chinese rice bowl water

Dissolve all the sauce ingredients and water in a large bowl

Instructions

1.  Cut off the roots of the Shimeji mushrooms
2.  Wash and clean them and separate them into individual strands
3.  Heat a wok, add in 2 tbsp of cooking oil
4.  Saute half of the minced garlic until light brown and fragrant
5.  Add in the shrimps and stir-fry until they turn pinkish. Dish up and set aside.
6.  Immediately, add in another 2 tbsp cooking oil into the wok
7.  Add in the remaining half of the minced garlic and stir-fry until light brown and fragrant
8.  Add in the two types of Shimeji mushrooms and stir-fry for 2 minutes over high heat
9.  Pour in the sauce ingredients and allow to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes
10.  Add in the fried shrimps and mix well
11.  Switch off the flame and dish up immediately

Braised Mushrooms With Mock Abalone Slices 香菇炒假鲍鱼片

Braised Mushrooms With Mock Abalone Slices 香菇炒假鲍鱼片

 

A very tasty combination of flavours

The other day while buying bacon at a market stall I saw a packet of abalone slices on display.

Of course, they were not the real thing but my son, YS used to order seafood noodles from one of the hawkers in Selayang and he likes the mock abalone slices very much. We were told by the hawker that they were actually the flesh of a type of shell fish. So I bought a packet and cooked them with mushrooms and carrot slices. The combination of flavours is superb and the texture of the mock abalone is almost like the real thing. This dish turned out very well, beyond my expectation.

Ingredients

80g dried mushrooms, soak in water until soft and with the stems removed
300g mock abalone slices
70g carrot, cut into thin slices
3 slices ginger
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp minced garlic

Marinade For Mushrooms

1 tbsp Shao Hsing wine
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cooking oil

Marinate the soaked mushrooms with this marinade for 2 hours

Seasoning Ingredients

1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Shao Hsing wine
1 Chinese rice bowl water

Mix the seasoning ingredients together

Cornflour Solution

1 tsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water

 Left : carrot slices. Right : Marinated mushrooms

A packet of mock abalone slices

Instructions

1.  Heat 2 tbsp cooking oil in a wok and saute the ginger slices and minced garlic until fragrant
2.  Add in the marinated mushrooms and carrot slices and stir-fry for 2 minutes
3.  Add in the seasoning ingredients and the mock abalone slices and allow to simmer for 3 minutes or until almost dry
4.  Add in the cornflour solution to thicken
5.  Switch off the flame and dish up

 The mock abalone slices tasted almost like the real abalone!

Stir-fried Shimeji Mushrooms, Snow Peas & Tofu 白玉菇甜豆炒豆腐

Stir-Fried Shimeji Mushrooms, Snow Peas & Tofu 白玉菇甜豆炒豆腐

Crunchy snow peas and mushrooms go well with the tofu

After coming back from a trip to Penang, we woke up late the next day and had a late breakfast. So SK and I wanted something light for lunch. As we walked through the market stalls I saw very fresh Shimeji mushrooms and we decided to cook Shimeji mushrooms for lunch. It should go well with porridge which we had in mind.

Ingredients

2 pieces soft tofu
1 box Shimeji mushrooms ( about 150g )
140g snow peas
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 tbsp cooking oil

Raw snow peas. String it (remove the edge) before use.

Two cubes of soft tofu

Shimeji mushrooms

Seasoning Ingredients

1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Shao Hsing wine
1 tsp cornflour
1 Chinese rice bowl of water

Mix all the seasoning ingredients together in a bowl

Instructions

1.  Rinse the tofu. Use kitchen towels to absorb the water from the tofu. Cut the soft tofu square into four quarters
2.  Heat up the 4 tbsp cooking oil in a wok until very hot. Fry the tofu squares until golden brown. You need to fry the tofu in 2 separate batches. Remove the fried tofu and place them in a large plate.
3.  Remove the excess oil used for frying the tofu, leaving only about 2 tbsp in the wok.
4.  Add the minced garlic and saute until light brown and fragrant
5.  Add in the Shimeji mushrooms and snow peas and stir-fry for 2 minutes over high heat
6.  Pour in the seasoning ingredients and let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes
7.  Dish up the Shimeji mushrooms and snow peas and pour them over the fried tofu
8.  Ready to serve

Mixed Vegetables Pancake

Mixed Vegetables Pancake

 

 Mixed vegetable pancake

 

This pancake is my youngest son's favourite. It has been a long time since I last made this. In fact I had almost forgotten about this pancake until my youngest son reminded me to make it for him for breakfast. So here it is.

 

Ingredients

50g dried shrimps, soaked and chopped
4 mushrooms, soaked and chopped
80g carrots, diced
1 stalk Chinese celery, chopped
80g flour
160g glutinous rice flour
50g rice flour
30g tapioca flour
450 ml water

Seasoning Ingredients

 

1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
3 tbsp cooking oil

Top left : Chopped Chinese celery. Top right : dried shrimps

Bottom left : chopped carrots. Bottom right : chopped mushroom

Instructions

1.  Combine all the chopped vegetables and mix them together with the four types of flour, water and cooking oil.
2.  Add in the seasoning ingredients and stir to mix everything together evenly.
3.  Heat a small frying pan and ladle 2 to 3 spoonfuls of batter into the heated frying pan. Make sure the whole base of the frying pan is coated with the batter.
4.  Once the edges starts to curl, flip over to fry the other side until both sides of the pancake are golden brown
5.  Repeat the process until all the batter is used up
6.  Serve the pancakes with chili sauce

Steamed Pumpkin Pudding 南瓜糕 （金瓜糕 )

Steamed Pumpkin Pudding 南瓜糕 ( 金瓜糕 ) 

Steaming hot and delicious

Ingredients

 

300g pumpkin ( net weight )
40g dried shrimps, soaked and roughly chopped
4 dried mushrooms, soaked until soft and cut into thin slices
250g rice flour
4 small shallots, remove skin and thinly sliced
600 ml water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp cooking oil

Garnishing

1 chili padi (remove the seeds and chop it up)
1 stalk spring onion, use the green parts only (chopped)
Shallot crisps ( see instructions below )

Instructions

1.  Remove the skin, seeds and pulp of the pumpkin. Use a grater to grate the pumpkin into fine shreds
2.  In a large bowl, mix the rice flour, water, salt, sugar and pepper together. Mix well
3.  Heat a wok until hot, add in the cooking oil. Fry the sliced shallots for about  three minutes until golden brown. Remove half of the shallot crisps and set aside to be used as garnishing. 
4.  Leave the oil and half of the shallot crisps in the wok, add in the sliced mushrooms and stir-fry for a minute or two.
5.  Add in the dried shrimps and fry for another minute
6. Add in the shredded pumpkin and stir-fry until the pumpkin is softened
7.  Add in the rice flour mixture and mix all the ingredients thoroughly.
8.  Keep stirring continuously to prevent the bottom from getting burnt. As it cooks the flour mixture will thicken to form a dough-like mixture
9.  Cook and stir until the mixture becomes like dough.
10. Switch off the flame and transfer the mixture into a square cake tin ( 21 cm x 21 cm )
11. Use the back of a spoon to smoothen the surface of the mixture.
12.  Place the cake tin with the mixture in it and steam over boiling water for 40 minutes on high heat. Sprinkle the garnishing on the pumpkin pudding and steam for a further 5 minutes.
13.  Switch off the flame and remove the cake tin from the steamer.
14. Let it cool completely before cutting into smaller pieces.

Sure looks scrumptious

Straw Mushrooms & Chicken Soup 草菇鸡汤

Straw Mushrooms & Chicken Soup 草菇鸡汤

 

 Wonderful tasting soup especially during the cold winter in Chaozhou

This is a typical Teochew soup. I have not tasted this soup until I married SK. This soup was only prepared  during the festive season when SK was young. When we visited SK's cousin in Chaozhou, back in 2000, this soup, too, was offered to us. After tasting it, SK got his cousin to show him where to buy all the Teochew dried foodstuff. Come to think of it, we need not have bought them as we were given so many packets of Chinese tea leaves and straw mushrooms by well-meaning relatives from Chaozhou City.

 

 Dried straw mushrooms

 

Ingredients

 

500g chicken ( wash, clean and drain dry )
50g dried straw mushrooms
1 tsp salt or to taste

Garnishing

1 stalk spring onion, cut into sections of 3 cm
1 stalk Chinese celery, cut into sections of 3 cm

Instructions

1. Wash the straw mushrooms to remove any grit and dirt
2.  Use 1.3 litres of water to soak the straw mushrooms for 1 hour
3.  Remove the hard parts at the base of the straw mushrooms
4.  Retain the top 90% of the water for soaking the straw mushrooms to boil the soup. Discard the bottom 10% of the water
5.  In a large pot, add 90% of the water from soaking the straw mushrooms and add in the straw mushrooms and bring it to a boil 
6.  Add in the chicken pieces and boil for 20 minutes.
7.  Add 1 tsp salt to taste
8.  Garnish with spring onions and Chinese celery

  Sweet and nutritious

Tree Mushroom and Chicken Soup 树菇鸡汤

Tree Mushroom and Chicken Soup 树菇鸡汤

Simple but tasty, tree mushroom soup

We had our first taste of tree mushroom soup in Chaozhou, China. In 2000 when we visited Chaozhou for the first time we were warmly welcomed by SK's cousin and his family. Each time we visited another relative we were offered hard-boiled eggs cooked in a sugary soup. Of course, we had trouble downing eggs cooked in sugar. Never in our lives have we eaten eggs in sugary soup. But that is the custom Teochew relatives in China treated those who visited the ancestral village for the first time. Thank Heavens, besides the sweet eggs, SK's cousin had other great dishes waiting for us! This tree mushroom soup was one of them.

Ingredients

 

 Dried tree mushrooms imported from China

Chicken pieces

 

Ingredients

 

40g dried tree mushrooms ( chew koe in Teochew )
600g chicken ( chopped into bite-sized pieces )
1.5 litres water
1 sprig Chinese celery, cut into 3 cm sections )
1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

Instructions

 

1.  Wash the tree mushrooms and clean them properly to remove grit and cut off the hard parts near the roots.
2.  Soak in 1.5 litres of water for one hour or until the tree mushrooms have softened.
3.  Take out the mushrooms and put them into a large pot
4.  Retain 90% of the water used to soak the tree mushrooms and discard the cloudy water at the bottom.
5.  Pour this water into the pot with the tree mushrooms and boil for one hour using medium fire. Add a little water if and when necessary.
6.  Switch off the fire and add in the chicken pieces.
7.  Cover the pot immediately and allow the hot soup to cook the chicken pieces for 30 minutes.
8.  Add in the cut Chinese celery and salt.  

It has a unique flavour and it tastes delicious